Sugar and Spice
by Zola1
Summary: A little girl asks Dorothy for help. Will she and Roger be able to save her before it's too late?
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: I don't own Big O, but I love it.

This story is one of a series of short stories and vignettes being posted to the "Story a Day" thread in the Amadeus Bar and Grill forum at the Save Big O website (see my profile for the link since the site won't let me put it here).

Feedback is welcomed.

Special note: I tried to write this as an episode, so there were some rapid scene changes. I decided to place each cut as its own chapter since this is a somewhat longer work. As a result, some of the chapters are very short.

**Sugar and Spice**

"Can you help me?" The child tugged Dorothy's arm.

"Are you lost?" The girl looked to be around eight or nine, her shoulder-length brown hair carefully arranged into a ponytail of cascading banana curls. She was wearing a pretty blue dress with an ornate lace collar. Was it a child from the domes?

"Molly! There you are!" A well-dressed man came hurrying over. "Don't run off like that," he scolded. "Your mother and I were worried about you!" As he shepherded her away, she gave Dorothy a desperate look over her shoulder, but said nothing more.


	2. Chapter 2

"It sounds like she was worried about getting into trouble with her father," Roger dismissed Dorothy's story with a laugh.

"Something was wrong," Dorothy insisted, refusing to let the matter drop. "I don't know why I think so, but I do."

"Intuition?" Roger asked, and she gave him a look. "I'll see what I can find out, how's that?" he said hastily.

"Today?" she asked.

"I can ask around," he said. It wasn't like her to be this insistent, and he took it seriously. "Now tell me what she looked like again. Her father called her Molly?"


	3. Chapter 3

"There's something odd about that, all right," Big Ear said from behind his paper. "Reginald and Kathryn Anderson are her parents' names. They and Molly have been living in an apartment building just inside the domes for about two years now. Nobody knows where they came from, although that in and of itself isn't unusual."

"So what brought them to your attention?" Roger took a swig of his beer, interested in spite of himself.

"Molly seems to be very interested in androids," Big Ear said. "She seeks them out at every opportunity, sometimes just talking to them, but sometimes asking for help."

"Memories?" Roger's voice dropped almost to a whisper.

"Hard to say. She's young now, but it will be interesting to see what happens when she's a little older," Big Ear said.

Roger slugged down the last of his beer and dropped the usual fee on Big Ear's table as he left the Speakeasy.


	4. Chapter 4

"I'm not sure that I'm the person you need," Roger said to the anxious couple sitting across from him. "It sounds to me like what you really want is a bodyguard."

"We want to know who's behind it," Reginald Anderson said. "We want you to find that person and negotiate with him. She deserves a chance to grow up, with her family, before we start worrying about Memories."

"I don't blame you for that," Roger said, smiling at the silent little girl. "When did you begin to realize that you were being watched?"

"I'm not sure," Anderson said. "Kathryn came home one day after taking Molly to the park and realized there was a man standing on the corner watching them. He didn't speak or do anything other than stand there, but as time went on, Kathryn realize she was seeing him everywhere they went."

"Did you recognize him?" Roger directed the question at Kathryn herself.

"I had never seen him before," she replied. "At first, I didn't think anything of it. But a few days later, when Molly and I went to the market, he was there again, sitting on a bench in front of the store. He's never spoken to us or approached, he just... watches."

"A neighbor you hadn't met?" Roger asked.

"We thought the same thing at first," Anderson interjected. "When we moved after I got a better job two years ago, though, within a few days, he was there again."

"If it's been going on for this long, why are you worried about it now?" Roger frowned.

"He spoke to Molly," Kathryn sounded terrified. "We were shopping and I realized I had left one of my bags inside. She waited outside with the rest of our things while I went in to get it. I was only gone for a minute, but when I came back, he was standing there talking to her!"

"What did he say?" Roger asked.

"She won't tell us," Anderson said. "When Kathryn came out, the man left."

Roger's voice dropped to the gentle tone he used with young children and the very old. "Molly? What did the man say to you?"

"I can't tell you that," the child answered flatly. She started at him unblinkingly. "You have an android," she said.

"Well... there is an android who lives here," Roger smiled. "Her name is Dorothy, would you like to meet her?"

"Absolutely not!" Anderson jumped to his feet as if to prevent Roger from leaving the room. He motioned to his wife, who immediately got up and led the child out of the study. "Mr. Smith," he said when they were alone, "Molly acts very... odd around androids. We've found that it's better to keep her away from them."

"I see," Roger said. "I only thought that perhaps if she wouldn't tell us what the man said, she might tell Dorothy."

"If it was any other child, I'd say it was a good idea," Anderson said. "But Molly... No, Mr. Smith. I'd appreciate it if you would tell your android to stay well away."

"I can ask her," Roger said. "I don't think anyone can tell R. Dorothy Wayneright what to do, though."

"Foolishness," Anderson dismissed his words. "Androids are meant to serve humans. You've just made the mistake of letting her think she can do what she wants."

Roger checked his suddenly flaring temper with a visible effort. Much as he was beginning to dislike Reginald Anderson, his daughter seemed to be in real trouble, and the child was blameless. "Be that as it may," he kept his voice deliberately calm, "I think your problems are a lot more serious than Molly acting strange around androids."

"So what's the next step?" Anderson asked.

"Try to find out what that man said to your daughter. I'll start checking a few things on this end." Roger walked him to the door. Kathryn Anderson and Molly were waiting for them in the entryway.

Roger knelt down in front of the little girl. "Molly, I don't know why you think you can't tell us what that man said, but we'd like to get him to stop following you around. If we knew what he wanted, it would be a lot easier."

"It won't help," she said gravely.

"Just think about it," he said. He stood and turned to her parents. "I'll be in touch in a couple of days," he said.

"Thank you, Mr. Smith," Anderson said as Norman opened the door.

Roger went upstairs and went out to the balcony, wondering what strange synchronicity had brought the very thing he was investigating straight into his home.

He went back inside and began to pace, thinking about it. There was something very, very familiar about that little girl, but for the life of him he couldn't put his finger on what it was.

"Something about this situation _stinks_!" Roger suddenly announced.

"What do you mean?" Dorothy asked. She had been busying herself with dusting the solarium, clearly curious as to why the girl and her parents had been there at the mansion.

By now she knew Roger well enough to know not to disturb him when he was trying to think something through, but she also knew that when he reached a certain point, he would want to talk about it. More and more, she was the person he talked to.

"Kathryn Anderson said that a strange man was talking to her daughter," Roger began to enumerate the main points on his fingers. "This man has apparently been watching them for more than two years, but only now are they concerned enough to seek help."

"That is odd," Dorothy agreed, sitting down on one of the couches.

Roger poured himself a drink and sat down on the couch across from her. "Molly has Memories centering around androids... at least, that's the rumor. Her parents neither confirmed nor denied this, by the way, but when I offered to introduce you to Molly, her father became quite agitated. He said she tended to act strange around androids."

"She asked me for help," Dorothy said.

"Well, I suppose that would seem strange, wouldn't it?" Roger sighed. "I need more information. I'll have to see if I can turn anything up. Oh, and at least for the moment, if you could avoid Molly if she's here, I'd appreciate it--while I'd love to see exactly what it is she does, I don't want to upset her parents."

Dorothy nodded. "I understand," she said. "I will keep my distance for now."


	5. Chapter 5

"R. Dorothy Wayneright!" The door slammed open and a bleary-eyed Roger Smith glared at the android seated in front of the piano as the music came to its crashing finale.

"Good morning, Roger Smith," she said primly. "Your breakfast is ready."

"It's seven am! Breakfast isn't until nine!" he complained.

She rose from the bench and handed him the mug of coffee he hadn't seen waiting for him on the low table. "Colonel Dastun generally does paperwork in his office for the first few hours of his day; if you arrive later, he may be gone."

"And you'd like me to go see him, is that it?" Roger grumbled, drinking almost half of the coffee in his first few gulps.

"It could prove to be useful," Dorothy said.

"It could prove to be useful," he mimicked as he stalked out of the room. "It could prove to be useful. It could prove to be useful? I'm not even awake enough to remember what I wanted to ask him!


	6. Chapter 6

"I can't answer that question," Dan Dastun wouldn't quite meet Roger's eyes.

Roger leaned on his desk. "We're talking about a little girl here, not some criminal!"

Dan sighed and looked toward the door nervously. His voice dropped to a whisper. "It's classified information. From the highest authority." He let his voice rise again. "You aren't entitled to ask questions just because you used to be part of this unit!"

Roger gave him a nod and made a great show of leaving in a huff. When he was in the car and on the road again, his expression turned thoughtful. If Alex Rosewater was interested, the odds of a successful negotiation had just dropped considerably.


	7. Chapter 7

"Hello?" Roger took the phone from Norman.

"Leave it alone, Smith," the voice on the other end wasn't one he recognized.

"Leave what alone?" Roger asked. "Who _is_ this?"

"That's not important. The Andersons are no longer your concern," the caller said. "If you know what's good for you, you'll keep your nose out of places it doesn't belong."

"Don't you threaten me," Roger said angrily.

"You've been warned. Drop it." There was a click that was followed by a dial tone.


	8. Chapter 8

Dorothy Wayneright stood atop a building near the Andersons' apartment. Kathryn and Molly had just left, and she was hoping to get a glimpse of the mysterious man who followed them.

She moved silently from rooftop to rooftop, careful to keep them in her sight. They were coming up on the grocery store when she spotted their watcher.

It had been her intention to try to speak to him while mother and daughter were doing whatever errands they had set out to do, but this plan changed when she saw a second man coming up behind them.

Before she could intervene, the second man grabbed Molly and she shrieked. The first man ran towards them, snatching the child from the other man's grip and pushing her towards her mother.

Kathryn grabbed her daughter's hand and ran to the safety of the store. Their defender made short work of the attacker, quickly incapacitating him. At the sound of a siren, he quickly disappeared into the gathering crowd.


	9. Chapter 9

"He's _what_? Are you sure?" Roger looked at Dorothy in astonishment.

"Quite sure," she said. "Only an android could have moved that quickly."

"Why would an android be following a little girl?" Roger frowned. "Do you know who he is?"

"I never saw him before," Dorothy said. "Instro might know him, I will ask him when I have my lesson tomorrow."

"That's a good idea," Roger said. "We can also go through the Registry, but there are a lot of androids in the city. Assuming, of course, he's listed and not passing as human."

"It's possible," Dorothy said. "If Instro doesn't know him, perhaps you can bring me to the Registry. I can go through the records much more quickly than you can."

"You also have seen him and I haven't," Roger said. "I don't like this at all. I got a phone call earlier telling me to forget about the Andersons." He turned to leave. "Tell Norman not to worry about dinner," he said. "I'm going to go out and talk to a few people and see what I can turn up."


	10. Chapter 10

"Reginald Anderson is a pompous ass," Angel said, draining the last of her drink. "The little girl is adorable, though. It's too bad."

"Another?" Roger was still nursing his first drink.

"Are you trying to get me drunk, Mr. Negotiator?" Angel laughed as Roger signaled the waitress. "Why are you so interested in the Andersons, anyway?"

"They asked me to negotiate for them," Roger answered. "Someone tried to kidnap Molly today, and I'd like to prevent a second attempt."

"Then you'd better speak to her parents," Angel took a good swig from the glass and swirled it, watching the ice cubes clink together as they spun. "No one wants to hurt the child, although of course people are interested in what she remembers."

"Of course," Roger said sarcastically.

"Be sensible. There's too many people out there who would like to get a piece of what she knows," Angel said. "Her parents were offered protection from that, and they refused."

"They want her to have a chance to be a child," Roger pointed out.

"If she falls into the wrong hands, she won't make it past childhood," Angel said. "The offer was a generous one, Roger Smith, even by your standards. Protection, access to a good education above and beyond what she remembers, and fair payment for anything she comes up with related to those Memories."

"What was the catch?" Roger asked.

"No catch," Angel said coolly. "Cooperation requires far less effort and yields a much better result." She finished the second drink and put the empty glass on the table. "We'll have to do this again real soon," she smiled at him. "Thanks for the drinks."


	11. Chapter 11

"I want to raise my daughter as I see fit!" Angel was right, Anderson _was_ a pompous ass. Roger had come to the apartment to find out more about the offer that had been made. "It's a devil's bargain, and if we took it, there'd always be someone looking over our shoulders telling us what to do!"

Roger tried to get the man to see reason. "The offer you described to me sounded very fair, and we might even be able to negotiate some additional concessions. It's an unpleasant situation, to be sure, but right now you hold the bargaining power, and the protection they're offering is no small thing. It might be the best chance you have."

"I didn't hire you to advise me, I hired you to negotiate," Anderson said angrily. "We want to be left alone."

"You're not going to be left alone. Too many people have heard that Molly may have Memories," Roger said.

"We'll just have to move again," Anderson said.

"And you'll undoubtedly be found again, especially now that people are actively interested in her," Roger said.

The fight suddenly seemed to go out of the other man. "You're probably right," he said. "I'll think about it and let you know in a day or two. I'd just like her to have a few more years..."

"We can probably arrange that," Roger said, rising from his chair. As he walked towards the door, Molly tugged at his arm. "What is it?" he asked, leaning down.

She cupped a hand against his ear and whispered, "The man who watches me says his job is to protect me."


	12. Chapter 12

"Good afternoon, Dorothy," Instro greeted her cheerfully.

The first order of business was their weekly piano lesson, but as soon as it was done, Dorothy brought up the matter of the android watcher.

"That would be me," she turned and came face to face with Molly's shadow. "I've been hoping to get the chance to speak to you."


	13. Chapter 13

Roger woke to blissful silence. He sighed happily as he burrowed his head into the pillow and then his eyes snapped open. Silence?

He immediately got up, pulling on his robe and padding barefoot down to the kitchen. "Ah, you're up, sir. I'll have your breakfast ready in a moment," the butler said.

"Where's Dorothy?" Roger asked.

"I'm not really sure," Norman answered, pulling the cast-iron frying pan from the cabinet and putting it on the stove. "She left quite early this morning."

"Did she say where she was going?" Roger asked, frowning.

"No, sir, she didn't," the butler cracked two eggs into the pan and began scrambling them.

Roger looked at the clock. It was already past one. Where could she have gone?


	14. Chapter 14

No one answered the door at the Anderson's apartment when Roger knocked. While it was possible everyone was out, there was a deserted feeling to the place.

He tried the door and found, to his surprise, that it was unlocked. "Hello? Anybody home?"

The apartment was empty. That fool! Surely he realized that he was giving up what small measure of protection he had? Roger checked all the rooms methodically. The only sign that anyone had ever lived here was a doll on the floor of one of the bedrooms.

It lay face down on the carpet, forgotten in the haste to leave. Roger picked it up and a chill went down his spine. Pinned to the front of the dress was a piece of paper with the words "Help me."


	15. Chapter 15

Dorothy was lying on top of the speeding truck, keeping herself as flat as possible. Molly's watcher had told her this might happen during their conversation at Instro's, so first thing this morning, she had resumed her position atop the building next door. When she'd seen Anderson and a couple of men carrying things out to a truck parked at the curb, she had moved down to the street, and as soon as he and the movers had gone back inside, she had leapt to roof of the truck and lay down, her arms outstretched so she could grip the edge.

Humans almost never looked up, she had discovered, and it held true in this case, too. They worked quickly, and it wasn't long before the truck was fully loaded. She could hear Mrs. Anderson's worried protests, and then there was the slam of a door and the engine roared into life.

They had been traveling for nearly half an hour at a high speed. Dorothy gripped the edge of the trailer a little more tightly and lifted her head, trying to figure out exactly where they were.

The truck suddenly swerved, nearly throwing her off the roof. It swerved again and slowed, the tires squealing as the driver fought for control. It stopped just short of hitting the guardrail.

She peered over the edge, wondering if they had lost a tire. "Thanks for making it so easy on us," one of the movers had pushed Reginald Anderson out of the cab.

Kathryn Anderson screamed as she too was shoved out on to the ground. "Molly! Someone help me, they're taking my daughter!"

Almost immediately the truck was in motion again and Dorothy put her head down. They were already going too fast for her to take a chance on trying to break into the cab and take control; her best bet was to wait until they got wherever they were going.


	16. Chapter 16

Roger was driving home after several fruitless hours of asking questions to try to find out where the Andersons had gone. There was a beeping sound and Norman's face appeared on the small screen on the dashboard.

"Master Roger, I've just received a phone call from the Andersons. It appears that Molly has been kidnapped."


	17. Chapter 17

The truck pulled into an open warehouse bay and came to a stop. "Come on, the boss is waiting for her," one of the kidnappers said, getting out and moving away from the truck.

"Don't give me a hard time, little girl," the other was obviously speaking to Molly. "If you do as you're told, there won't be any trouble."

Dorothy slowly eased herself into a crouching position, assessing her chances for intervening. They didn't look good. The man dragging Molly towards the set of elevator doors at the opposite wall had what appeared to be a long-range stun gun in his hand. The other man had a wicked-looking handgun that, if she remembered correctly, used armor-piercing rounds.

They were far apart enough that it was unlikely that she would be able to incapacitate them both before the other got a shot in; she already knew all too well how much damage those bullets could do, and the stun gun would have enough voltage to effectively render her unconscious.

She also didn't dare take the chance on a nervous gunman harming the child--the sight of Timothy Wayneright's life's blood pooling on the ground was a memory that would haunt her for the rest of her days. She needed another plan.

These men were being cautious. The first man stood guard as the other man and Molly got into the elevator, running to catch it just as the doors started to close.

It was time to get Roger Smith. Dorothy silently climbed down from the top of the truck and left the building.


	18. Chapter 18

"Well, well, well," Horace Bartlett turned to look as the two thugs entered the room, pushing Molly ahead of them. He turned back to the bank of video screens, indicating one of them. "I'm glad you followed my instructions about bringing in the child. Did you know you had a stowaway?" He flipped a switch and they all watched the video of the truck pulling into the bay.

"I'll be damned," one of them let a low whistle as the camera angle changed to clearly show Dorothy on top of the truck. "That's Roger Smith's... maid," he said, his tone clearly indicating that he thought another word might be more suitable.

They watched in silence as Dorothy got down from the truck and left the building. "I suppose this means we'll be getting a visit from Roger Smith," the second thug said.

"I certainly hope so," Bartlett said, smiling. "I have a warm welcome planned for him." He rose from the chair. "Take her to our back-up location," he said. "I don't want any trouble from her."

The one holding Molly's arm nodded. Before she even knew what was happening, he pulled the trigger on the stun gun and she slumped to the floor.


	19. Chapter 19

"You must help us find our daughter!" Kathryn Anderson wept as her husband paced.

"I'll do my best," Roger promised. "Has anyone tried to contact you?"

"No," Anderson said. "I sent my secretary down to our apartment and asked her to get in touch with you right away if anyone called."

"I doubt this is an ordinary kidnapping for ransom," Roger said. "I would think that if it was money they were after, they would have told you so when they drove off with Molly. Norman?" he turned to the butler, who had come in with a pot of tea and several cups. "Has Dorothy returned?"

"No sir, she hasn't," the butler said. "I'm quite worried about her."

"I'm starting to worry too," Roger said. "I'm going to take a ride and look for her. Would you make up one of the guest rooms for the Andersons?"

"Of course, sir," Norman nodded and began serving the tea.


	20. Chapter 20

Dorothy sprinted rapidly through the deserted streets. The building where they were holding the child was quite a distance from the domes, and it would be getting dark in an hour or so.

She was almost home when she saw a familiar car coming down the street, and she stepped off the curb and waved.

"R. Dorothy Wayneright, where have you _been_?" Roger sounded furious.

"There is no time for you to be angry with me," she said, sliding into the passenger seat. "I know where they are keeping Molly. I have just come from there."


	21. Chapter 21

Molly sat quietly, watching her two guards intently. "Look somewhere else, kid," one of them complained.

"It's unnatural," said the other. "She hasn't so much as shed a tear since we took her." He turned his attention towards the child. "Aren't you worried about your parents?"

"No," she said. "Am I going to be able to talk to androids?"

The second man shook his head. "Like I said, it's unnatural."

The first man nodded agreement. "Well, it won't be much longer now," he said. "She'll be somebody else's problem."


	22. Chapter 22

Roger Smith permitted himself a few words that weren't normally part of his vocabulary when they found an empty building. "You're sure you have the right address?" he asked Dorothy for the third time.

"We saw the truck," she pointed out. Her voice was as inflectionless as always, but her narrowed eyes boded trouble if the question was repeated a fourth time. "The video screens are still warm." Roger touched one and nodded.

She fiddled with the controls and the bank of monitors flickered into life. "They must have seen you leaving," Roger said, pointing to the monitor that showed the truck. "It gave them plenty of warning that we'd be back."

"Very good, Roger Smith," the door slammed shut and a voice sounded from behind them, making them both turn. "I don't underestimate the resourcefulness of Paradigm City's top Negotiator." There was no one there; the sound was coming from a speaker on the wall.

Roger frowned. "I know that voice," he hissed to Dorothy. "Horace Bartlett," he addressed his adversary. "Is this another one of your get-rich-quick schemes?"

"I'm flattered you remember me," came the reply. "I told you to keep your nose out of places it didn't belong. I'm so glad you didn't pay attention!"

"What have you done with Molly?" Roger demanded.

"She's just fine, which is more than I can say for you," Bartlett laughed. "In exactly sixty seconds, a bomb is going to go off that's big enough to destroy this building. It's been nice knowing you, Mr. Negotiator!"

Roger immediately went for the door and found it locked. He rammed into it with his shoulder, but it didn't budge. "Dead-bolted," he said to Dorothy, looking around for another possible exit. "What are you _doing_?"

"You can see the device on this screen," she said, calling his attention to one of the monitors.

The timer ticked down another second. "The door is made of metal," she observed. "I can try to break it down if you like, but even if I'm successful, we won't have enough time to get out."

Roger had come to the same conclusion and was speaking into his watch. "Big O!" When nothing happened, he checked for signal and cursed.

"Do you really think I'm that stupid?" Bartlett inquired gleefully as Roger frantically searched for a way out. "The room is fully shielded, intended to be used as a shelter in case of an accident in the factory. When we saw your... friend had paid us a visit, it was just too perfect!"

Roger didn't answer; he was pulling at the ceiling tiles hoping for a vent. "Dorothy... what the?" She had grabbed his arm and was pulling him into a corner.

The reason for this became clear a heartbeat later as one of the walls exploded. The timer read eleven seconds as Molly's watcher came through the smoke. "Hurry! Call your megadeus!" he said. Dorothy was already pulling Roger out of the room.

"Big O!" he shouted as the two androids ran with him towards the nearest window. Dorothy jumped through it, shattering the glass and Roger followed without hesitation, the other android right behind them.

All three were caught by an enormous hand. They were just reaching the safety of Big O's cockpit when the timer went off. The explosion was so large that the Megadeus shook with the shock waves.

"What the hell is _that_?" In the smoking crater formerly occupied by the building was another archetype Megadeus. Roger was glad to have something to fight. "Big O, it's show time!" he shouted.

"I've got to get Molly," her watcher told them. Dorothy nodded at Roger and he opened the cockpit just enough to permit them to exit, closing it as soon as they disappeared from sight.

"How many of these did they make?" Roger wondered out loud as he positioned himself for battle. He swung at his opponent and gave a little grunt of surprise as it deftly moved out of the way. The archetype was equipped with jets similar to Big Duo's, but they were smaller and didn't seem to permit it to actually fly.  
Roger struck again and again it dodged, using the jets to leap well out of range. He settled himself more securely in his chair, preparing for a long fight.


	23. Chapter 23

"I've got a lock on her," Molly's guardian said to Dorothy as they ran towards a warehouse just a few buildings away. "Once I knew roughly where she was, it didn't take too long."

"She was being guarded by two men," Dorothy said, giving a brief description of the weapons the thugs had been carrying. The two entered the building without hesitation, moving unerringly to the room where the child was being held.

"Hector!" Molly gave a shout of delight as door flew open. "I knew you'd... Hector! Hector!" She began to cry as the android fell to the ground.

The thug who had incapacitated Hector grabbed Molly roughly. "Let's go," he said, dragging her to the door. Dorothy met him at the doorway and knocked him to the ground with a well-aimed kick. She leapt for the second, successfully wrestling the stun gun away from him before he could use it. She used it on both thugs and turned to Molly, but the child was no longer in the room.

Hector slowly sat up. It was clear he had been badly damaged. Dorothy turned to see if she could assist him but he waved her off. "Go get Molly," he said. "She's up above us."

Dorothy quickly found the child, who was standing on the edge of the building's roof. "They killed him," she was still crying. "Now there will be no one to help me."

"He is damaged but alive," Dorothy told her.

"I don't want to do this any more," Molly wept. "They said they would help me, but Mr. Anderson lied. I don't want to do what he says any more!"

"Roger Smith will help you," Dorothy said with certainty.

"No one can help me," she said. "Will... will you tell Hector that I love him? No! Let go of me!" Dorothy had gotten close enough to grab the child and pull her away from the roof's edge.

Molly kicked and fought with surprising strength, but Dorothy held her firmly. "Roger Smith will help you," she repeated. "I... promise."

"You can't lie, can you?" the little girl asked. "Some androids can lie."

"I can lie," Dorothy said, "but I will never lie to you." She lifted Molly up. "Let's go and see Hector. He was very worried and he'll be happy to see you. We'll bring him to Norman."

"I liked Norman," Molly said, calming.

"Norman knows a lot about androids," Dorothy said and brought her back into the building.


	24. Chapter 24

"Thank you so much," Hector said. He, Molly, Dorothy, Norman and Roger were gathered in the solarium. "I didn't know what to do. We were in a terrible situation--the authorities had realized that Molly didn't have any parents, were questioning why she wasn't in school, and they were talking about sending her to live with a human family."

"Mr. Anderson offered to help us," Molly said. "He and his wife had lost their only child two years ago. He said I could go and live with them but that he would let me see Hector as much as I wanted."

"He didn't keep his word?" Roger asked.

"He wanted my Memories," Molly said. "I couldn't disobey him. Every time I thought of a way to tell someone what was happening, he would command me to keep me from doing it again, and he said that if Hector spoke to anyone, he'd... he'd make me destroy him."

Norman held up a small wafer. "This is far more sophisticated than the system Beck used on Miss Dorothy," he said. "I destroyed the port it plugged into after I removed it, so it can't be used again."

"I have one last question," Roger said. "Why didn't you just tell the authorities that Molly was an android?"

"We were afraid that if people knew, they would try to just take the Memories," Hector said. "There was a certain amount of protection in Molly appearing to be a child--no one wanted to take the chance of harming her. When Mr. Anderson made us that offer, it seemed like the perfect solution."

Roger nodded, satisfied, and the conversation turned to Molly and Hector's plans for the future. "I think it's time to build a new shell," Molly said. "This one has served its purpose. If I look older, it will prevent many of these problems."

"I agree," Norman said. "If you need any help, I would be happy to assist in any way I can."

"Thank you," Molly said. "If you don't mind, though, what I would really like to do now is go home...if Hector and I still have a home."

"It's just as you left it," he said, and she smiled.


	25. Chapter 25

"Well, that's the end of that," Roger watched from the balcony as Reginald Anderson walked away from the mansion. "He won't bother Molly again."

"If he keeps his word," Dorothy said.

"He has no choice," Roger said. "He can't control her any more. Do you think she'll still visit Mrs. Anderson?"

"I think she will," Dorothy said. "She said Mrs. Anderson had been very kind to her."

"So... about my payment," Roger suddenly smirked. "I have brought your case to a successful conclusion."

"I have no money," she said. "Does this mean that I will have to work for you even longer?"

"I wasn't thinking of that kind of trade," Roger said.

Dorothy gave him a look. "You, Roger Smith, are a louse."


	26. Chapter 26

Roger Smith woke and stretched expansively, relishing the quiet. He smiled. He might be a louse, but now he was also a well-rested louse.

_We have come to terms_


End file.
